Good morning everyone.
Its the 1st April and so nice to sit out and admire all the Autumn color around the Tea Room.
Not much around my place at all though. The trees have been losing their leaves for ages due to the long dry.
The only one that will have some color is the Liquid Amber which is always the last to lose its leaves.
The lovely cooler weather is making the plants all sit up and smile . I see weeds poking their horrible little heads up too.
I am going to have to watch which ones I pull out as I have seeds thrown around which will be growing too.
I hope you are all still enjoying this very long weekend. Dont eat too much chocolate...lol
Better go and put out the sign to show where we are now so noone gets lost when they return after the holiday.
We came from here..
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1300562/
Happy day.
Jean.
This message was edited Apr 1, 2013 7:26 AM
TEA ROOM # 120
Silly me, forgot the pic...Jean.
lol Jean... it is April Fool's Day ;)
we had a great time at the Air Show.
The weather wasn't bad, warmer than last time - 2 years ago Easter was at the end of April so it was freezing & damp.
There was some rain on Sunday, we thought there might be some farmers out in paddocks doing a happy dance to see it come down but by 11.30am it was clearing & we were treated to another great day of flying skill.
While we were away my Sister-in-Law lost her Mother.
Sandra had terminal cancer but was expected to last a few more months. Sadly she developed an infection & was rushed to hospital & despite treatment she lapsed into a coma & passed away on Good Friday.
Take care everyone
Teresa
I'm telling you, Charley will eat anything. Poor Abigail... Was a beautiful day yesterday and last night we got rain. Now i want to go see how my plants are I put out...
I just don't like April Fool's Day. never have. Can't figure how WHY anyone would want one.
Hope you all have a grand day....
Good morning everyone.
Still quite dark here. B***** daylight saving. I like it , but only in Summer. Our silly pollies extended it and now noone has put it back to the end of Summer.
Nothing much was done yesterday as I am waiting for a bit more rain to soften the ground before I can dig anything out.
I see lots of little green weeds creeping about .
Charleen, nice to see you had some rain. Dont the plants love it when you put them out in the rain.
I move my azaleas out from the veranda when it rains. They look so green and fresh after.
I hope your TBo is learning to behave nicely now.
I forgive Charley. Who can resist chocolate eggs ?
Teresa, nice to hear that you had good weather for most of the air show.
Any further wins for Sugar.?
I hope she is not being naughty again .
Al, you will have a great feed of those tomatoes when its time to harvest.
I have some plants still producing the yummy small ones that I eat before they ever see the kitchen.
There is a self sown tomato that has now put on some fruit too.
I remember tossing a couple of soft tomatoes out last year for the birds .
They must have missed some seeds.
Next season, I may try the brownish colored ones that I like to buy from the supermarket.
Dianne, my bruggies are loving the cool weather and the rest of the garden is starting to realise its now nice and cool so plants are standing up straighter.
Anthony, I hope you enjoyed a lovely Easter and didnt eat too many chocolate eggs
You will be getting busy getting all your bulbs ready for Spring soon, the way the year is running away quickly.
Hello Moon, hope all is well over your way too.
Heres a tasty treat for anyone popping in for a cuppa...Chocolate Marble Bread..
stay safe and enjoy your day.
Jean.
Life could not be better, Jean. My sweet grandsons are here from Brisbane and their parents, my DD and SIL, are off for a couple days to Las Vegas, so I get to spoil them unreservedly....grin
Shortly after sunrise Easter morning....Mum is putting on a valiant effort at being awake....GRIN
they are all beautiful....
Rain, beautiful ,gently soaking rain...that's what we have at the moment.
Sounds as though everyone enjoyed their Easter..
Lovely pic of your daughter and the kids, moon.....
You are going to enjoy the next few days...
Forgot to mention that I saw a really happy little movie before Easter, called "Goddess".
It was based in Tassie and the scenery is stunning....Lots of shots of Mt Roland...
Very entertaining film......catch it if you can...
Rain has stopped so I can go outside again...I don't think that we got very much....
Dianne.
Sorry, I was crook for 'most of easter' with some lovely virus.....not nice... but ok this morning to go to work... Slept away, most of easter.......no chokky eggs[ blood sugar], no phone calls, no visitors........Im slowly packeting up heaps of seed crosses and just waiting on a dozen or so.. more to dry....Sold all but 1 LanKon lily in the last few weeks, kept a few of the really dark ones for myself.....Seedling boxes are growing 'ballisticly' and should be a good year for 'oddly' marked trumpets and aurelians...a few weird asiatics too!!...I chipped a filling and booked in to the dentist in a fortnight[ hot-cold sensitivity rating]-about 4 outta 10..,.,.Charleen made me a beautiful 'Sooty' clay sculpture and It arrived today... She is such a caring person..Thank you Charleen!!!!!-Anthony
Sooty arrived safe for you???? Great. I really enjoyed making it for you Anthony....
Thanks Charleen...I think so too, but I am probably more than a bit biased....grin How sweet of you to send Anthony a Sooty to treasure.
Glad you got a bit of rain Dianne....hope this year sends you much nicer rainfall. The movie looks fun...will have to check it out.
Anthony, glad you are feeling better....we have missed you here. Sounds like you will have a wonderful crop of lilies this year.
Hope you all have a lovely day with cooler temps.
Moon
Good morning everyone.
A real Autumn morning here with the chill in the air. Like yesterday, it will be warmer later in the day as the lazy sun is getting very miserly with his warmth.
I spread some fertiliser around and moved a few pots. I did try removing some of the dead leaves from the day lilies but they are damp now from the few showers we had. They need to be dry so they can be easily pulled away.
I have pretty nerines starting to pop their heads up. I love seeing the bright patches of color on the dull Autumn days.
I really should divide the clumps. Maybe in Spring.
Anthony, lovely to see you are feeling much better . Its going to be interesting to see the flowers on your "weird"bulbs. Charleen is a lovely person and its nice you now have a Sooty to look at all the time.
I have Charley mule on my frig and always think of our very good friend here Charleen.
Charleen...hugs and thanks.. I love looking at Charley mule every time I am in the kitchen. I keep expecting the real one to wander in my door looking for cookies.
Maybe I need a Charley around the garden... hmmm. no, I think he'd eat too many plants.
Moon, a lovely pic and you must be in granny heaven having them visit.
I hope your Dd & SIL enjoy Vegas and have a nice win there.
Dianne, isnt it nice to see the garden after rain... Lots of fresh green and always smells lovely.
How are your bulbs coming . Do you have nerines too?
I am disappointed that I cannot get the yellow lycoris to grow here. It is so pretty. No problem with the nerines and other lycoris though.
Hello Al and Teresa and anyone else looking in.
Heres something yummy for morning tea.... Berry Shortcake..
Enjoy your day and stay safe
Jean.
Good Morning.
Jean, is it the cold that keeps the Lycoris aurea from growing there? mine seem to multiply like the weeds here...and the occasional freeze we get doesn't seem to faze them either.
Moon, I have no idea what stops the yellow lycoris growing. All other bulbs seem to thrive. I have tried the bulbs from different places and they all vanish. I think they must rot in winter. I did try them in a pot but never saw them again. They just vanish.
Is there an invisible lycoris eater out there ??
I wanted the lovely yellow as there are few yellow bulbs in Autumn.
Jean.
Jean, before I write another thing and forget what I wanted....
How is your Jostaberry? mine didn't do a thing again....last year 2 flowers this year not a one....
Maybe they are duds and only fruit somewhere else...it's a big bush so if it doesn't fruit next year it's out...
No, I don't have Lycoris....
Anthony, what a lousy Easter...so sorry to hear that you weren't well....could you post a pic of Charleen's Sooty when you can.
Hi to everyone....
Dianne.
What a wonderful gesture from Charleen...
I'd also love to see a pic of the Sooty sculpture.
My old boy is getting a lot wobblier & I am not sure how much longer he will keep on keeping on.
He is happy in himself & still hears & sees well - has cataracts forming but much better than his mother was at this age.
She nearly made 16, Copper is heading for 15 in July.
The weasel pup is nearly a grown up at 17 mths old, nearly time for her hip & elbow x-rays.
No breeding from her unless those check out.
She is deaf in one ear so that is a big red X on her motherhood potential, she needs to be excellent in every other way to balance that out.
Speaking of my dear little Sugar weasel - I think I mentioned a while ago about her finding dead fish at the local park...
well yesterday we took her walkies to the park & she disappeared into the undergrowth along the creek.
When she came running out she had something in her mouth.
Her prize was a dead cat!
I was horrified & kept telling myself she hadn't had the time or made enough noise to have killed it...
and when she gave it up I found the poor cat was stone cold & limp meaning it must have been dead for some time.
Sugar had dropped it in the middle of the park & I didn't want any kiddies to see it lying there so I used a poo bag as a glove & carried it over to the shrubbery & placed it curled up as if asleep.
I wanted it visible so if owners came looking they could find it but subtle enough not to upset anyone.
It was such a pretty looking cat & i keep wondering what one earth happened to it, I know how upset i would be if something happened to Cassie Cat.
Some of my photos from the Classic Fighters Air Show at Omaka...
http://s75.photobucket.com/user/dalfyre/library/Omaka%202013?page=1
Pic 1 - Fokke Wulf 190
pic 2 - Strikemaster & Venom (twinboom is the Venom)
pic 3 - some of the Magnificent 7, Fokker triplanes
I hope Anthony doesn't mind, here is His Sooty. it is not fluffy as Sooty but still very cute. I also put a little heart on corner of his pillow and his name and year on back side for Anthony. coarse I had to show you my "Couch Potato" Finally some little frogs and a rose I made....
Wow! I had to view each one of those fabulous photos! That could have been me riding the right "shotgun seat" on the Huey helicopter in 1966. I've riden in several others as well. Thanks for sharing, what a show!!
Al
Good morning everyone.
Another cloudy but fine day yesterday. Not as warm though with a bitey wind .
Looks like Autumn has arrived and chased the really warm weather away .
Lots more bulbs poking heads up and I see there are still a few naked ladies braving the weather . I found one of the red haemanthus in flower too. I must look for the others .
I always mean to move them as they get overgrown by other plants.
I have decided to plant lots of rosemary along the path and house in the front.
Nothing much wants to grow there so rosemary should be okay.
I say front of the house as thats the way the house is built but has never been used as the front because the drive and gate etc are all at the back.
The front only looks out on part of the garden & trees.
You have to walk around the house and shadehouses to get there.
I find many farmhouse are like that too. One arrives somewhere then wonders which door to use.
I suppose when the houses were first built there may have been a path or drive to the front but over the years of everyone using the back door, it becomes the "front".
Unless a house is actually built on a road with the front facing that way its easier to use the back.
I think we all do it here anyway.
Even when visiting in towns, I find most still walk around to the back . ( unless there is a fence or large dog of course)
Is this an Aussie thing or do you folks overseas do the same thing ?
Maybe it was years of being told to wipe your feet or dont mess up the floor with dirty shoes etc.
I certainly find it easier to use the back door and not have to take off my shoes every time I go in or out from the garden.
Hello Teresa, great pics of all the planes. Looks like you 7 hubby had an enjoyable day.
I had to laugh at the thought of the Weasel running up to you with her "present"
I hope it was past the smelly stage...ugh..
Copper is doing well for a dog of his age. Nice to see he is still reasonably active in his old age.
Sugar will miss him when he does go.
Dianne, what jostaberry ?...lol
It went toes up last year. Never grew much anyway.
All my berries are gone now. The ones that grew well were way too rampant. I am still pulling out suckers.
Talk about triffids.... Those darn things wanted to take over the whole garden.
They never put on much fruit either.
Spent all their energy running about, under and over everything.
I dont mind the nasturtiums doing that as they are not prickly and do die down .
Charleen, the Sooty ornament is lovely. I am sure Anthony doesnt mind us all seeing it. It will be nice for him to look at and remember Sooty.
I like your little frogs too. I love frogs and have frog ornaments all over the garden.
Give Charley & friends a pat for me.
Anthony, hope you are back to feeling 100% now.
Hello Al, Moon and everyone else popping in.
I am off to get a few things done as we have to go out later, checkup day at the doctors today .
Heres a treat for morning tea....an old favorite...Boiled Fruit Cake.
.
Stay safe and enjoy the day.
Jean
mmmm - yum, boiled fruit cake.
I used to make that quite a bit when I was young & single.
Now I have a garden, husband, two dogs & a cat to take up my time.
Did some tidying in the garden on Tuesday - mowed the back lawn & dead headed the roses along with a little weeding & filled the green bin up.
And now we have the cooler weather hitting & rain for the next few days.
Hopefully there will be a few warm days to get the grass growing before the frosts hit.
especially in rural areas where the farmers have been in drought conditions for several months now.
Good morning everyone.
A real Autumn morning with the chill in the air.
Hubby says the forecast for the next week is over 20C every day.
I love the warm but we do need rain badly. I hope we are not going to get all our rain at once in winter .
Mother Nature can be full of those tricks.
We ddint go out after all yesterday as the doctor is away.
Lucky we were still home to get the phone call.
I ended up pulling some of the easier weeds from the irises and tossing them over the fence to a waiting Cecil Sheep. He sees me come out there and comes to stand patiently until I give him the weeds.
At the moment, its the only green feed he sees as all the area is so dry and brown still.
Teresa, sounds like you are in the same boat with the lack of rain over there. Its been very lucky that we have had no serious fires around here.
Hello Dianne, Moon, Al, Charleen and Anthony.
I am off to water early as I have a few other things to do later.
I will leave something nice for morning tea.....CupCakes with Chocolate Icing.
Hope the weekend is fine for you all.
Happy day
Jean.
Raining & cold here :)
who'd have thought I'd be happy about that!
We have the pellet fire running & just finished signing off on the EQC repairs to the house.
My Sister-in-laws Mum's funeral was today, Sandra had said she only wanted garden flowers so I picked what I could from mine.
In the end I was quite pleased with the result, there were a few red mini roses, a single stem of pink nerine, pink & white japanese anemones, purple & pink penstemons & pineapple sage.
I was surprised to see the pink nerine as I thought I only had the white & they are about a week or so off opening.
Hi everyone..
Had a lovely day yesterday, we went on a bus trip to St Erth and Frogmore gardens then to the Chocolate Mill.
I was disappointed in St Erth, only one perennial border in flower and nothing tagged so you didn't know what you were looking at...Diggers concentrate mainly on their seed sales, though they had a good variety of small potted plants.....but not much in the garden, even the veggie garden wasn't tagged, you had to guess..
Still, I had Turk's cap pumpkin and baby watermelon seeds in my mind and I could buy both....
$10 entry...Wouldn't go again...
But FrogmoreGardens was a different story, Magnificent flowering gardens, plenty of flowering plants to buy...
Just beautiful....definitely go again, next time in Spring...$7.50 entry....could have stayed all day...but we still had the Chocolate Mill.....
Oh boy....All these beautiful chocolates lined up.....I bought the $25 box...so many ones to try...one a day is all I'm allowing myself....there are many more varieties in the shop than online....
http://www.chocmill.com.au/store/index.php?cPath=7
I forgot to post some pics from Frogmore...they have a catalogue......the property used to be Norgate's perennial plants.....
Dianne...
Good morning everyone. Its a beautiful morning here. The sun is up, there is a little smoke haze around from a fire yesterday and it will be warm.
I spent yesterday taking pics of all my bromeliads. I like to keep a file of all my flowers and plants but lost a lot when I accidently deleted a folder full. .
I never realised I had that many ( 154+)
Hubby thought I was funny, walking around them all spraying with water to wash the leaves before taking pics.
I explained that they have to look nice and shiny and our water leaves a calcium residue which is not pretty.
Dianne, I remember Norgates. I used to buy plants years ago from them.
Those gardens look lovely.
Are you really only having one chocolate ??? hmmmmm
Teresa, nice to see you getting rain. Its great you now have your fire working for winter.
The bouquet for the funeral must have looked lovely. The lady would have liked it.
My nerines are all coming out now too. My whites are always last. Usually its the pinks first but the red/ orange have beaten them.
Charleen, how is Charley ? Havent seen him for a few days.
Hope he is behaving . Pats for TBo and the others.
Hello Moon, Al and Anthony.
I am off to enjoy the sun and check on all my brugmanias.
Heres something yummy for morning tea...Chocolate Coconut Macaroons..
Enjoy the weekend
Jean.
I will try to have only one chocolate, Jean.....lol
Beautiful day here......
Dianne.
If you feel tempted Dianne, I will look after them for you....lol
Of course you may never see them again..
Beautiful day here too.
Jean.
He got his head buried in the 3 large bales I got them last Saturday night... so that keeps him pretty busy.
let me go check on my chihuahua, hubby has let out. I got to get him in. Radar is his name...
Lord, I remember Norgates, too. I bought a whole lot of stuff from them in the 70's. They would dip them into liquid clay to keep them until they got to you. I didn't realise you had to wash it off! I am pretty sure everything died! One of our family mottoes," As a last resort, read the instructions!!"
Guys, do you remember the ads that used to be in the back of Your Garden magazine. One of the things I coveted was a long metal hollow wand, with attachments for your hose and you pushed it well down into the soil, so you could water the roots of trees & shrubs. I just found the Don Burke page on how to make your own, but that ain't gunna happen. It wasn't that far back when I found it online, maybe in '08 -'10 but now I can't find it. The chap who made them never went commercial, mail orders only or go to his place and pick one up. I think it was called Water Wand, but I keep getting something about Outboard Motors??
My sister is finding it hard to get water into one part of her garden which has a layer of very hard clay and both of us are now at an age where we need all the help we can get. The Gum Blossoms are one of my paintings, from a aphoto by Stephen Agius
Anyone?
Gabi
Hello Gabi. I have clay soil here and it is hard to wet if never cultivated. The best solution is heaps of mulch.
If your sister wants to water a few areas such as around trees or shrubs, the best idea is to get lengths of poly pipe. You know the sort. , white, about 3'' in width , used for downpipes etc.
Find a handy man to cut it into pieces about a foot long and drill holes in it .
Put into the ground down to the soil level at the foliage line and fill with water .
The water will seep slowly away ( provided you dont drill holes too big )
You can also add liquid fertiliser this way.
I solved my problem with larger areas by putting in a dripper system which is not expensive if done in stages. The drippers deliver water slowly so it seeps in.
You dont need a dripper on every plant either. Just work out how much area each dripper covers . I put them about 15"apart.
Your sister can always read up on no-dig gardens or raised beads.
Hope this helps.
Jean.
the weather has changed dramatically, so much colder now, we are running the pellet fire & it really heats the entire house once it gets going.
We had the dogs in the lounge with us so had to close the hall door, didn't want the Sugar weasel exploring.
It was so hot the dogs were panting & flaked out on the couch, we were peeling off layers - sure beats shivering!
I had to laugh - I saw something on facebook - it was a pallet garden, you can have them vertically against a wall or lie them flat.
My work mate thought of that ages ago & has made use of pallets left by the trucking company that delivers our stock.
And the other idea was using rain guttering attached to a wall to grow herbs & lettuce etc.
That was what I saw at Ellerslie flower show, it looks really good & is an effective way of using vertical space.
You can use guttering as a hanging garden too & layer the lengths of gutter to make a screen.
I do love all the clever ideas people come up with to add garden to small spaces, if you have a courtyard or just a balcony you can still have fresh herbs, tomatoes, strawberries & lettuce to name a few :)
Good morning everyone.
Its foggy here this morning but should be a lovely day once the sun gets through. Yesterday was quite warm and I gave all the plants an extra drink. It should stay fine and warm for the week.
I did a bit of weeding in the cottage garden as there was a plant that had selfseeded a bit too much.
My salvias out there are looking well after the hot weather. One is starting to flower and is very pretty with the green buds opening to a bright blue flower. I have a lovely large flowered pink one there too. I may plant a few more as they like it out there away from a lot of the wind.
I have a few around in other areas, but they didnt do well in the excessive heat as one cant keep the water up to them all the time.
I may move all of them .
The ground is still way too hard to move any of the dead shrubs so that will wait until rain. The weeds are the same in the iris garden, One cannot pull them out as they are much too strong ( either that or I am getting weak ..lol)
Teresa, lovely that you can now enjoy the warmth of your heater.
It can get hot when the doors are shut.
My dear aunt used to have her gas fire on with all the doors open and once I started closing them she wondered why it was suddenly so nice and warm .
She had blamed the fire not being hot enough..
I had to laugh when you said the Weasel may explore if the door was open. Now how could you say little Miss Innocence would do anything naughty...lol
It is interesting to see the ideas people come up with for gardens in odd spaces.
Hello Charleen. You had better watch that Charley Mule when he starts getting into the hay, he may swallow little Radar.
He does like his cookies though. He was here this morning looking for a handout.
Hello Dianne, Al, Moon and Anthony.
hope all is well in your areas.
Hello to anyone else looking in.
Heres a treat for morning tea. .....Banana Walnut Cake
I am off outside to see what I can get done today.
Happy day and stay safe
Jean.
Watching the CARLTON /collingwoods game... GO YOU BLUES!!!!!!!!!!
VERY QUESTIONABLE UMPIRING ??????????????????????????????
This message was edited Apr 8, 2013 3:02 AM
YAHOO! - Spring has finally sprung! It seems like the first time we've seen the sunny blue sky in months. A few of my crocuses are up along with my tomato and pepper babies planted last month.
Have a great week.
Al
Yummy treat Jean....I love walnuts.
Enjoy your game Anthony....hope your Blues win.
Happy Spring, Al. Your baby plants are looking quite happy.
Hope you all have a lovely Monday.
Moon
Morning all.
All looking very promising, Al...love the crocus, gorgeous colours....
Moon and Charleen, hope you're having lovely spring weather...
Charleen you worried me when you took off after Radar and didn't get back..hope all is ok.
Gabi, lovely painting, Norgates was very popular wasn't it....I can remember that wand too...
Banana walnut cake my favourite, thanks Jean..
Dianne
Good morning everyone.
Its chilly here but will be a lovely day as was yesterday.
I spent the afternoon moving my bromeliads around to make room for new ones.
I have lots of pots with little green shoots peeping through. Its always nice to see the green in what has looked like a row of old pots with nothing growing.
Dianne, I have pots of grasses that are waiting for rain so I can finally get my grass garden going..
Over the years I have tried various plants in the garden at the front of the house.
Nothing likes it out there much as two large trees suck all the moisture out. Being hard clay it also sets like concrete in summer.
I tried to make a rose garden there but they didnt like the big wattle tree so the roses now thrive in the iris garden . I have liliums in the front but they look lonely when growing . I decided that ornamental grass will survive best.
Besides the little birds will love to hide in the grasses as the larger bird bath is out there .
Hello Al, you have good lot of seedlings to plant. I hope your weather is kind to them.
Moon , how is your garden going ?
Anthony, you must have little green shoots all over the place by now. I hope we see lots of lovely pics later.
Dianne, glad you were able to get a piece of cake . It certainly didnt last long . Must be a favorite with most people.
Charleen, I hope you found Radar. He is too little to be out with large mule feet about.
I am off to get a parcel ready to post. I have to be early a shubby has to have the car to go out later.
Hello to anyone else looking in .
Heres a nice treat for morning tea.... Cream Cheese Pound Cake..
Enjoy your day and your gardens.
Jean.
Radar is letting Tbo scare Charley off. Kaluha and Tbo are friends too.....
Here is Chicken tribe having a snack. The Cardinals and sparrow share it too...
Sweet William is in Bloom.
Also have Wisteria. Believe Spring has sprung....
Good morning everyone.
Well, nearly everyone.
Charleen , Radar is very cute and doesnt TBo look just like the big guard dog ?
I do love your chickens. Something else its impossible to have here because of all the foxes around.
Unless one builds a real fortress , the foxes can find ways to get in anywhere.
Lovely to see your Spring flowers too.
That is a very different Sweet William to the one I grew up with.
Hello Dianne, Anthony, Teresa, Moon and anyone else looking in .
I didnt do much yesterday but have made a start on getting some of the bromeliads into the old shadehouse.
I am off to fertilise all the brugs this morning. Lovely outside with the sun just coming over the trees.
Heres a treat for morning tea....Blackberry CoffeeCake
Enjoy the day and stay safe.
Jean.
Good morning everyone.
Now that sounds odd, because everyone is not here...lol
Oh well. I'll just have to eat all the cake ( or share with Charley mule)
I hope you are all just busy and not suffering from any problems.
Its foggy here this morning which usually means a lovely day at this time of year.
I will be just pottering around as I have to wait for rain to do any major removing of dead plants.
I hope you are all enjoying great weather and your lovely gardens. I am off to enjoy the sun as it creeps over the trees.
Hello Dianne, Teresa, Moon, Charleen, Al and Anthony.
Heres a lovely decorated cake in case anyone is having a birthday...
Happy day and stay safe..
Jean.
